Staycation trend lifts sales of car roof racks at Halfords

The cycling boom during the pandemic has helped full year sales at Halfords to jump, and the retailer has seen good trading momentum carry on.

The company said group revenue in the year to April 2 improved 13.1% to £1.3 billion, with underlying pre-tax profits £40.4 million higher at £96.3 million.

Halfords pointing to good demand for services at its autocentre garages, and e-mobility sales, including e-scooters and e-bikes, surged 94%.

Halfords, led by Graham Stapleton, added that there has been growth in the first nine weeks of the current financial year. Comparable sales in the retail motoring and retail cycling divisions, are respectively up 6.6% and 42% from the same period in 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak.

Stapleton said products associated with staycations are proving popular, with demand for roof boxes and roof racks for cars.

The company said: “Within our retail business, pent-up demand and the restrictions on foreign travel will give rise to increased demand for our touring and cycling products, whilst motoring products should benefit from more normalised traffic patterns.”

But the chain added that there external factors that add uncertainty to Halfords’ outlook.

It said: “Supply challenges for cycling products remain acute, and a return to normal trading patterns remains highly uncertain, particularly in H2, as the hospitality industry and international travel potentially reopen to a greater extent. The general economic outlook remains challenging, with consumers likely to be more cautious and expecting greater value from their purchases.”